[HPforGrownups] FAT

[Saitaina]

No: HPFGUIDX 20265

I myself was a bit annoyed at her portrayal of Dudly (always commenting that
he was getting fatter and fatter) while not portraying other, nice, normal
wizards or muggles that were plump but then I thought about it and realized
Dudly's weight is not in connection with portraying him as a brat, but as
demonstrating the difference between how the Dursley's treat Harry and how
they treat they're own son.

Some kids would not have picked up on it if she did not use it to this
extreme.  Having Dudly grotesquely obese and having Harry a skinny rail is a
great difference between the treatment of the two of them that a seven year
old could easily pick up on.

Beyond that it gives a bit of a underline for Dudly's bullying (not that I'm
excusing it) and remember, everything we see is colored in some way by
Harry's perspective.  Would Dudly seem different if the story was told by
Vernon or Petunia, or even Hermione?  Dudly would of course be obese, but
would he really have five wobbling chins?  Would he still look like a pig in
a wig?  It's all a mater of stepping out of the fat = evil debate and
looking at it from different views.

On a completely but not entirely unrelated note, I do hope that Dudly's diet
works because I think that Harry needs a smuggle nemesis and besides,
Dudly's on the verge of being a goner if he keeps up his appetite.

Saitaina
----- Original Message -----
From: Jamieson Wolf Villeneuve <crowswolf at sympatico.ca>
To: <HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2001 10:13 PM
Subject: Re: [HPforGrownups] FAT


> Hello All!!!!
>
> Schlobin at aol.com wrote:
>
> > One of my friends, Rich, who is a professor at the University of
Michigan
> > School of Social Work gave me permission to post these comments to this
list
> >
> > "I love the Harry Potter books too.
> > But anyway, something that really bugs me about the books is her
depiction
> > of obesity and her equating it with sloth, greed, and narrow-mindedness
> > (her depiction of Harry's cousin).
>
> I don't think that's it, exactly. I don't think she means to promote sloth
as evil, just that the meaner characters, such as Dudley, are portrayed as
being as unsavory as possible.
>
> > I think that continues to promote
> > intolerance and mistreatment based on weight. I feel these wildly
popular
> > books will not do much for kids who are bullied and ostracized based on
> > weight.
>
> I'm a fairly big guy, and I never felt any anger at the way the fat people
were portrayed in the books. I don't think she's portraying anything bad for
bigger children, actually. And if so, she's not doing it intentionally. IMHO
of course.
>
> >
> > On the who's who in Harry Potter website, notice the description of
Dudley:
> > "Dudley Dursley: Harry's chubby, spoiled and bratty cousin, also a
Muggle."
> > I bet nine of out ten kids would start with a description of Dudley's
> > weight as his defining characteristic."
> >
>
> Well, he is chubby, spoiled and bratty. I don't think she's being unfair
to anyone, except to portray that there are bigger children in Britan (and
all over) and that meaner people are unsavory in as well as out.
>
> >
> > I brought up Hagrid and Molly and noted that Mrs. Malfoy is thin, but
still
> > think
> > that this is an issue worth discussing...
> >
>
> Hagrid and Molly are good points. As is Madame Maxime and Madame Hooch,
who both stuck me as being rather plump. It doesn't matter the size of you,
but what's inside that counts. (oh, dear! My mother just came out of my
mouth. eeww)
>
> Hugs
> Jamieson
>
> --
> "I don't need parents.
> All I need is a recording that says, 'Go play outside!"
> - Calvin and Hobbes
>
> In the beginning the Universe was created.
> This has made a lot of people very angry and been
> widely regarded as a bad move. - Douglas Adams
>
>
>
>       Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
>         www.
>
>
>
>
>
> _______ADMIN________ADMIN_______ADMIN__________
>
> All OT (Off-Topic) messages must be posted to the HPFGU-OTChatter
YahooGroup, to make it easier for everyone to sort through the messages they
want to read and those they don't.
>
> Therefore...if you want to be able to post and read OT messages, point
your cyberbroomstick at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPFGU-OTChatter to
join now! For more details, contact the Moderator Team at
hpforgrownups-owner at yahoogroups.com.
>
> (To unsubscribe, send a blank email to
hpforgrownups-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com)
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
>
>